A 19-year-old Omaha man was killed and a fellow student from the University of Nebraska at Kearney was injured in a car-semi crash Thursday afternoon on Interstate 80 near Seward, Neb.

Jose Martinez of Omaha was pronounced dead at the scene of the 5 p.m. crash. He was a 2006 graduate of Ralston High School.

A passenger in Martinez's vehicle, Uto Yamamoto, 20, of Kanagawa, Japan, was listed in critical condition at BryanLGH West Medical Center in Lincoln Thursday night.

A hospital spokeswoman said that she could not provide any new information on Yamamoto until his parents arrived from Japan.

Martinez was studying education at UNK, said Peter Longo, UNK's dean of student life.

"There's a profound sense of sadness here," Longo said. "Jose was deeply appreciated and loved."

Martinez reportedly lost control of the 1995 Toyota Camry he was driving west on I-80, Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said. The car crossed into the eastbound lanes, colliding with a semitrailer truck driven by 53-year-old Gary Koehn of Scotia, Neb.

The semi pushed the Camry back into the westbound lanes, where it collided with another car. The semi continued across the westbound lanes into the ditch on the north side of the Interstate. The crash closed I-80 for about five hours.

Collins said that Yamamoto was transported via helicopter to the Lincoln hospital. Koehn was treated at a hospital in Seward and released. The driver of the vehicle that struck the Camry was not injured, Collins said.

Martinez and Yamamoto were wearing seat belts, she said.